Running Straight to You
by Dreamergirll
Summary: My interpretation of what happens after the ending of Run Away Home. Lots of SAKE! I tried to keep them as in character as possible, hopefully you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

After talking with Kit about his friend Pani's ranch in Hawaii, Sam and Jake ended up drifting towards the edge of the party. Leaning against the pasture fence they watched as their friends and family milled around the bonfire, talking and laughing amongst each other. Sam had become increasingly aware of Jake's fingers intertwined with hers as they were talking to Kit, and although she was intrigued by his stories of the Hawaiian ranch, she really had only been half listening. Holding Jakes hand like this had started a feeling of butterflies in her stomach and brought a light blush to her cheeks, and Sam wasn't sure what to make of it. She had never really felt this way around Jake before, and she was pretty sure that this was not the kind of feeling you normally got when you were standing this close to one of your best friends. But as the night went on Sam realized that she was okay with it, and maybe even a little bit excited about the possibilities. Jake had been such a big part of her life ever since she could remember, and if she was being completely honest with herself she had never been able to picture her life without him. She had never really enjoyed seeing him interacting with other girls, especially Rachel Slocum, and was happy that he had never been super girl crazy like a lot of other guys his age. But now, standing here with him with their arms almost touching, Sam began to wonder what he actually meant by it all. She wanted to ask him, but for once in her life she was at a complete loss for words. How do you ask your best friend to go into detail about what their actions really mean, especially when your best friend is as conversationally challenged as Jake. Sam was about to just give up on the whole idea when Jake spoke.

"You've been staring at that fence post for the past five minutes. Unless I'm missing something, I'd say you have something on your mind."

Sam jerked her head up to meet his eyes, then quickly glanced away again. Well, subtlety had never been her strong suit, and besides, Jake knew her way too well anyways to be fooled that easily. She responded with a slight smile and said,

"Yeah, I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now, it feels like there's so much happening all at once."

She saw him give a slight nod out of the corner of her eye, and without turning to her he asked,

"Anything you wanna share?"

"Really?" Sam asked, raising her eyebrows.

Jake shrugged, still refusing to meet her eyes. Sam paused for a minute, trying to collect her thoughts, but her heart was speeding up now and she ended up babbling,

"I don't know, I've been thinking about the Phantom and his herd, and the Kentworthy's new ranch, and Cody, but also about us I guess. I mean, these past few weeks have been weird between us with Kit and everything, and now we're holding hands which we've never done before. Not that I'm not okay with it, because I am, but I don't know, I guess I'm just wondering what it all means."

Sam clamped her mouth shut before she could make an even bigger embarrassment of herself, and anxiously waited for Jake to reply. As she anticipated, he began to rub the back of his neck with his free hand and had an almost pained expression on his face, but she didn't take that to heart because she knew her tirade would make him uncomfortable. He was silent for another minute or two, but to Sam it felt like an eternity. Just before she began to panic that maybe she had read way too much into this, he took another deep breath and quietly said,

"Honestly Sam, I'm not really sure what it all means either. I guess lately I've realized that you really aren't a little kid anymore. Watching you take charge and help Brynna through her labor was impressive, then watching you scale that rock face all by yourself scared me more than I'd like to admit. You were right though, when you said I wouldn't like you any other way. I guess I'm just starting to admit that to myself, and I don't know, maybe I wanna give myself some time to really figure that out before I have to leave."

Sam stood there for a moment in what felt like shock; she swore her heart stopped beating for a second leaving her feeling a little light headed, but then an unfamiliar feeling of giddiness swept through her, making her smile and squeeze his hand again.

"I think I'd be okay with trying to figure that out."

"Yeah?" Jake asked, looking down at her for the first time with a look he usually reserved for timid and flighty horses as he approached them.

"Yeah" Sam said, still smiling while she moved ever so slightly closer to him until their arms brushed against each other.

"Okay" Jake said, lightly bumping his arm against hers in response, and in that moment, Sam realized that she really couldn't be any happier.


	2. Chapter 2

The party began to wind down soon after their conversation, and they watched as Jake's family started getting ready to leave. Jake gave her hand one more squeeze before he let go and started to walk towards his brothers.

"I'll see you later, okay Brat?" he called over his shoulder, and Sam couldn't help but roll her eyes. Apparently not even his admission that he might have feelings for her was going to stop him from calling her that, but for some reason the childish nickname didn't bother her so much anymore.

She started to walk slowly towards the house, feeling like she was in a daze, but before Sam had the chance to really take a breath and process the whirlwind events of the night, Jen appeared out of nowhere with a crazy gleam in her eye and practically pounced on Sam for details. Once Sam had summed up the conversation between her and Jake, Jen gave her a wry smile and said,

"I was afraid this day would come, and although I'm happy for you, don't expect Ryan and I to be going on any double dates with you guys; I don't think I'll ever be ready to see you two drooling over each other for more than 30 seconds."

"A double date?!" Sam squeaked. "Jen, he said he's trying to figure out if he has feelings for me or not, not that he's ready to take me to prom."

"Oh Sam," Jen sighed, shaking her head at her best friend with a smile on her face. "You two have been practically inseparable since you were born, he's always been crazy overprotective of you, and now that you're growing up, he's finally starting to realize that maybe he cares for you in a very different way than he does his other friends. I mean, remember how much of a jerk he was being when he thought there was something going on between you and Kit for whatever crazy reason? Trust me, he has feelings for you. Although," she said with a smirk, "I'm not sure you'll ever have to worry about him asking you to prom, it doesn't seem like his kinda thing."

Sam took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a little dizzy as Jens words sank in. "You're okay with him having feelings for you, right? Cause you're starting to look a little queasy" Jen said, leaning in closer.

"Yeah, I am, I think" Sam said. "I mean, I am, it's just that everything feels like it's happening so fast and I haven't had any time to really think about it yet. I never thought in a million years that I would be holding hands with Jake, let alone anything more. And I didn't even know that I had feelings for him until 3 hours ago. It's all a little overwhelming. But enough about me," she said, raising her eyebrows at her friend, "does this mean that there's a possibility of you and Ryan going on a date?"

Jen looked down trying to hide a smile, and with a shrug said, "He asked if I wanted to go for a ride with him before school starts again, and I told him we could do that. So I don't know, we'll see how it goes."

"I'm really happy for you too" Sam said, smiling wide. "Oddly I think you guys would make a good couple, even if he is a Slocum."

"Thanks Sam" Jen said, and then proceeded to give her a big hug. "Look at us, a couple of hours ago we were just going about our lives, as single as ever, and now we can barely keep the guys off of us. What a night" she said kind of dreamily.

"Okay there" Sam interjected with a laugh, "lets not get too carried away. Guys are great and all, but horses will forever be our first loves, and we can't forget about each other."

"I know, I was kidding, well kind of" Jen said smiling, before her mom yelled at her from across the bonfire that her "five more minutes" had expired five minutes ago and they were leaving with or without her. "Okay, I gotta go, but I'll call you soon!" she said as she jogged towards her family's truck.

Sam waved goodbye and continued her walk towards the house. Dallas and Pepper were the only two left outside, and Sam said a quiet goodnight to them as they finished putting out the bonfire. Once she got in the house she was surprised to find that everyone else had already gone to bed, but she was kind of relieved that she wouldn't have to explain anything to Gram or Brynna, or god forbid her dad. She softly made her way up the stairs and into her room, and fell into bed with a smile on her face.

* * *

The next morning came much too fast; after finally falling into bed late that night, Sam found that she was still too hyped up to fall asleep, and she spent another hour or two staring up at her ceiling trying to sort through all of her churning thoughts and feelings. She thought about how it had felt to have Jakes hand wrapped around hers, and every time she did the butterflies returned to her stomach. She was almost in awe of how quickly these feelings had suddenly developed from what felt like nowhere, but Sam wondered if maybe they had been there for a while, buried so deep that she wasn't even aware of them until yesterday.

Although she could have done with a couple more hours of sleep, she heard Gram in the kitchen talking to Brynna and her dad, and Sam figured she should get up now before one of them came to find her and drag her out of bed. She quickly grabbed a sweater and jeans and made her way downstairs, hoping that her family wasn't about to pepper her with a thousand questions.

Sam reached the bottom of the stairs and gave Gram a quick peck on the cheek before plopping down into her chair next to Brynna. Her dad looked up as she sat down and promptly said, "The troughs froze over last night, you better hurry with your breakfast so you can get out there." He pushed up from the table and gave Brynna a quick kiss before grabbing his boots and Stetson and walked out the door. Sam raised her eyebrows and looked inquisitively at her Gram and Brynna.

"Did something happen? Why's he being so gruff this morning?"

Brynna smiled at her and said, "I think he may have noticed you being a little closer than usual to a certain someone last night, and he's not quite sure what to make of it, so naturally he's making it awkward instead of just asking you about it. Speaking of which though…" she trailed off with raised eyebrows, "Anything you want to share with us?"

Sam felt her blush coming back full force as Gram sat down expectantly, and even Cody seemed to be staring at her from Brynna's arms. "Not really, I mean I don't know, maybe…?" Sam started to wolf down her pancakes, wishing she was anywhere but there. Hacking through inches of ice in the frozen morning air suddenly seemed like a paradise compared to this interrogation.

Gram chuckled softly and said, "It's okay dear, you don't have to tell us anything right now, but we just want you to know we're always here for you to talk, and we just don't want any secrets or sneaking around. We'll try to calm Wyatt down too, just give him a minute."

Sam nodded as she hastily brought her plate to the sink and said, "Okay, thank you." She shrugged her coat on and stuffed her feet into her boots as fast as she could and made a beeline for the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had been at the troughs for about an hour now, and could barely feel her arms as she swung the ax into the ice. She was on her last one and thankfully her dad was nowhere to be found. After this morning Sam wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to face him again; all they had done was hold hands and already he was acting weird! She shuddered thinking about how he would react if anything actually did happen between her and Jake.

As if he had heard her, Sam suddenly heard hoof beats approaching, and as she looked up she realized those hoof beats belonged to Witch. Immediately Sam felt her heart jump, then she quickly rolled her eyes at herself. If she was going to get all nervous and excited every time she saw Jake she was going to have a serious problem, seeing as she saw him almost every day. Whatever you do, she told herself, don't act like some lovesick idiot around him, that'll scare him off quicker than Jens crazy outfits do.

"Hey Brat, how're those arms?" Jake asked as he pulled Witch up alongside her.

"What arms?" Sam joked, rubbing out her quaking muscles, "I can't feel any."

Jake huffed a laugh and asked, "Wanna ride fence with me? I ran into your dad on the way over here and he said it needs checking."

"Sure, I was thinking about riding Ace today anyway, let me just go tack him up real quick and let Gram and Brynna know."

Jake nodded while dismounting Witch and held his hand out for the axe. "Here, I'll go put this away while you let them know."

Sam raised her eyebrows and said "Wow, thanks Jake, what a gentleman."

He gave her a look that let her know he could stop being one real quick if she kept that up and continued to make his way towards the barn. Sam couldn't help a smile from spreading across her face at the idea of spending the rest of the morning with Jake out on the open plains.

* * *

They had been riding in silence for about 10 minutes now; they had made some small talk about how Cody was doing and how Sam felt about being a sister at the beginning of the ride, but to no surprise Jake had quickly quieted down and was currently staring at the fencing in silence. Sam wasn't sure if it was an awkward silence or not. There had been silence between them a million times before and it had always felt perfectly normal, but now there seemed to be this nervous energy crackling through the air. Although she was aware it was all in her head, she wasn't the only one who was picking up on it. Her nervous energy was making Ace very jumpy; he kept tossing his head and quickening his pace, and at one point he got too close to Witch for her liking, which she let him know by swinging her head around to snap at him.

Jake gently reined her back in while shooting a questioning look in Sam's direction.

"What?" Sam demanded, suddenly feeling confused and defensive and slightly off kilter.

"Did I make things too weird between us?" Jake asked quietly while looking down at his reins.

Sam waited a few seconds to see if he had a follow up comment to explain why he felt that way, but of course she was just met with silence.

"I…. I don't know" Sam finally said, glancing down to look at Ace's mane. "I mean, no but yes?" She took a breath and blew the air out of her cheeks, then dared to glance over at him. He was back to studying the fences, but from his slightly rigid posture Sam knew he was listening to her every word.

"I mean, you really caught me off guard last night, but not in a bad way. I just found out that my really attractive best friend who has called me a pest and a brat all my life might actually like me, and despite all his annoying qualities and his lack of conversational skills I might actually like him too. I feel like that's bound to make things awkward, right?"

It took Jake a minute to look away from the fences and face her, but when he did Sam could see his tomcat grin and a sparkle in his mustang eyes.

"Wait, you think I'm really attractive?"

Sam couldn't help from bursting out laughing while rolling her eyes at him. She pulled Ace over to fence and grabbed some snow from the top rail and quickly made a snowball, which she then proceeded to chuck at his shoulder.

"Shut up Jake," she said, still smiling, "you're such a guy."

"Well spotted Brat," he retorted as he flung some snow back at her.

"Hey!" she yelled, about to grab some more snow to toss at him, but all of the sudden Ace decided he didn't want to be a part of the snowball fight anymore and veered right as she was leaning left, which made Sam lose her balance and go tumbling off into the snow.

"Oomph, what the heck Ace!" Sam called after her horse as he loped off in the direction they had come from.

"That horse could spook at a bird chirping" Jake said, shaking his head as he looked back at Sam. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just wet," Sam said as she stood up and tried to shake the snow from her hat and hair.

Jake pulled Witch up next to her and kicked his boot loose from the stirrup. "Here," he said, reaching his hand down towards her.

Sam took it and let him pull her up behind him on Witch. "I've had to ride double on her twice in almost two days, she's gonna hate me" Sam commented as she sat down.

Sam felt Jake shrug as he said, "She can get used to it."

Sam felt another smile creep over her face as she looped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his shoulder, maybe just a little closer than she had the other day. She swore she could feel him lean back into her just slightly before he nudged Witch to carry on.

* * *

They began to make their way back to the ranch a little while after, and Sam found she was regretting having to go back so soon. The silence between them was back to being comfortable, and with the sun beating down and Jakes warm body pressed against hers it was making Sam a little sleepy.

"Ugh," she said suddenly as a disturbing thought found its way into her head.

"Huh?" Jake said from in front of her.

"I just realized we have to go to school tomorrow."

"At least it'll be a short week since it's already Monday."

"It'll never be short enough," Sam muttered, thinking about all the homework she was about to be hit with.

"Well maybe we can try to plan something for Friday, if that'll motivate you to get through the week."

Sam's heart sped up at the idea of actually setting up a planned date with Jake, but she tried to sound as nonchalant as possible as she said, "Yeah, that might work."

Jake just nodded as they entered the ranch yard and said, "I've got some things I have to do back at home, but I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Sam felt a twinge of sadness that he had to leave so soon; although it was already past noon the morning felt like it had flown by in the blink of an eye. He was right though, she would see him tomorrow, so she took one last second to memorize the feeling of being pressed up against him, then tried to dismount Witch as gracefully as possible.

"See ya tomorrow, thanks for the ride" she said as she looked over to where Ace was milling about by the barn, his reins dragging on the ground.

Jake just tipped his hat at her and spurred Witch into a lope, sending them back out towards the open range.

Sam sighed as she made her way over to her horse who was watching her out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but wonder what Jake wanted to do Friday.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone- I'm so sorry I haven't posted in awhile, senior year of college really kicked my butt, but I'm hoping to get a few more chapters up in the next couple of weeks! Thanks to everyone who has left me a review, you guys are awesome :)**

* * *

When she got to the bus stop Tuesday morning she found Jen excitedly waiting for her, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with her blonde braids flapping. As soon as Sam was within earshot she started gushing about all of the plans Ryan and her family had started making for Harmony Ranch over the past few days.

"Oh Sam, there's going to be so many palominos coming, and I'm hoping Dr. Scott will let me shadow him on more of his visits, to get the experience you know. Ryan seems so invested in this and he's been really great about listening to what my dad has to say, it really feels like they're going to be equal partners. I'm so excited I'm not sure I'm going to be able to concentrate in school today, can you imagine?"

Sam quirked her eyebrow as she smiled and said, "Somehow Jen, I don't quite see that happening, but you're right, that does sound really exciting, I can't wait to come over and meet all the new horses! Silly won't know what to do with herself!"

"She'll get used to them," Jen said with a shrug. "So, any exciting new developments with you? Is Cody still as cute as ever? And how's our pal Jakey doing? You guys kiss yet?"

Sam gave her friend a look of bewilderment until she noticed how Jen was waggling her eyebrows and trying very hard not to laugh.

"Shut up, Jennifer," Sam said as she playfully shoved her friend towards the open doors of their bus that had just arrived. "What is wrong with you?"

Jen laughed as she made her way to their seat, and said more quietly as they sat down, "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just still so surprised that he managed to get up the nerve to hold your hand in front of your dad, not to mention practically the whole town! How did your dad take it by the way?"

Sam grimaced as she remembered how awkward the next morning had been when her dad could barely look at her. She hadn't seen much of him after that, and if she was being honest with herself it was because she was trying to avoid him as well.

"Umm, he wasn't that thrilled about it, but Gram and Brynna said they'd talk to him."

Jen shook her head and muttered, "cowboys," then asked, "But seriously, has anything happened since I last saw you? Or has Jake gone back his regular close lipped mysterious self?"

"We saw each other yesterday morning while we were doing some chores, and we talked about maybe doing something this Friday," Sam said, feeling a slight blush starting to creep over her cheeks.

"Like a date?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah I guess," Sam said as they pulled into the school parking lot. "I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Well keep me updated!" Jen said as she got off the bus and started walking towards the doors. "I'll see you at lunch!"

* * *

The rest of the week seemed to go by fairly fast for Sam, despite all the homework that she was in fact assigned. She really hadn't seen much of Jake in school, although that wasn't out of the ordinary. When they did happen to pass each other in the hallway or meet eyes across the lunchroom, they reacted the same way they always had; Sam giving him a small smile and Jake giving a slight nod of his head. Honestly Sam was relieved that they could keep their sense of normalcy in that regard; although she was excited about the new possibilities ahead, they also made her very nervous at times, and she was glad that it felt like her best friend was still there if she needed him. Although as it got closer to the weekend she began to wonder if Jake had really meant what he said about hanging out on Friday; he hadn't been back to the ranch either, and Sam had started to get a sinking feeling in her stomach that maybe he had changed his mind about the whole thing.

When she mentioned this to Jen on the bus Thursday morning, Jen took a few moments to stare out the window in thought, then turned to Sam and said, "Honestly Sam, I know I like to give him a lot of crap sometimes, but for all his faults he is incredibly loyal to you, so I don't really see him backing out of this like some coward. But he's also pretty shy, so you can't forget about that. If you're that worried about it you should just ask him."

Sam sighed and said, "I thought you'd say that. Maybe I'll try talk to him during lunch."

"Good plan," Jen said, "and if he tries to avoid us we'll enlist Darrell to help us corner him, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help."

"Oh man," Sam said with a laugh, "let's hope it doesn't come to that, he'll have way too much fun with it."

"Exactly," Jen said with a wink while Sam shook her head. "Can't wait!"

* * *

It turned out that finding the time to talk to Jake during lunch was more difficult than Sam had anticipated, but that was mainly due to the fact that she was late because her math teacher made her stay after class to correct a few problems on her homework.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate math?" Sam grumbled as she took a seat across the table from Jen.

"On an almost daily basis, yes," Jen said without looking up from her plate. "I figured that's where you were, but I was also beginning to wonder if you were hiding out somewhere and I was going to have to come find you. I was planning on trying to grab a seat at their table but I felt weird sitting there by myself, sorry."

"It's ok," Sam said. "I'll just try and eat fast and maybe meet him at the door or something."

About ten minutes later Sam saw Darrell, Jake, and the rest of their gang starting to clean up their lunches, and a sudden burst of nerves exploded in her stomach. She was fine with talking to Jake, but she wasn't sure how confident she felt trying to do that in front of the rest of his friends, or how he would feel about it.

Jen noticed her look of hesitation and said, "It's now or never Sam, just do it, it's not like you've never interrupted their posse before to talk to him."

"Ok, ok, fine" Sam said, getting out of her seat before she had a chance to think about it any longer, "I'm going."

As Sam made her way over towards the exit Darrell of course caught sight of her and drawled, "Samantha darlin', it's been too long. How've you been holding up since my man Jake here dropped a bombshell on you? I know its been keeping **me** up at night."

Sam felt another blush start to creep over her face as a few of Jakes friends chuckled, but told herself to stay calm and said, "I'm fine Darrell, thanks for asking. Say hi to Ally for me, I haven't seen her since the bonfire."

Darrell grinned at her as if to say he was proud of the way she was handling his teasing and said, "Will do. I'll give you lovebirds a moment, don't do anything I wouldn't do." And with a wink, he was gone.

"Sorry 'bout that," Jake mumbled as he lowered his hand from rubbing the back of his neck. "I told him not to make a big deal about it but…"

"He's Darrell," Sam finished for him with a wry smile. "It's ok, I can handle it."

Jake nodded in approval and said, "So, did you need me for something?"

"Umm yeah, actually," Sam said, her confidence starting to waver a little bit. "I know you had mentioned something about maybe hanging out tomorrow, and I guess I was wondering if you still wanted to do that?"

"Yeah, I do, I've been meaning to talk to you about it."

"Oh yeah, when exactly were you planning on doing that?" Sam teased, feeling a rush of relief at his answer.

"Was still working on that," Jake admitted a little sheepishly, and Sam couldn't help but find his answer endearing; she clearly wasn't the only one feeling nervous.

Jake took a breath and said, "I was thinking maybe I could pick you up after dinner and go for a drive somewhere, maybe to Clara's for some dessert. I'd say we should go riding, but by the time we get home from school it's already getting dark, and there's gonna be a cold snap coming in this weekend. It's up to you though."

"No you're right, that sounds perfect Jake, you know I'll never turn down a chance to get some pineapple upside down cake."

"Yeah I know," Jake said, giving her a smile before his face turned serious again. "I should probably talk to your dad about this though."

"Yeah, probably, do you want me to do it with you?" Sam asked, secretly hoping he was going to say no.

"No that's alright, I've got it."

"Ok good," Sam said, and now it was her turn to smile sheepishly. "Good luck though."

Jake just nodded and said, "I'll head over to your place after school today and talk to him, and as long as he doesn't disapprove I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said just as the warning bell rang. "I should get going, I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully."

"Hopefully," Jake echoed as he turned down the hallway.

Sam stayed there for a second longer as she felt the butterflies start back up in her stomach, and all she could think was that she really hoped Gram and Brynna had been able to calm her dad down, because she really wanted to spend tomorrow evening with Jake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello my lovelies, I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to get the next chapter out; grad school has really been kicking my butt, but it's finally here! I have loved reading all your reviews, you guys are the sweetest and my main motivation! I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

After Sam got home from school she decided to busy herself with cleaning Aces tack, in order to distract herself from the possibility that her dad might say no to Jake taking her out. She knew how much Jake respected Wyatt, and doubted that he would go behind his back if her dad disapproved. She wondered if maybe she should have talked to her dad instead of trying to avoid him, but she honestly had no idea what she would say. Jake may be a man of few words, but she had to give him credit for having the courage to talk about this, the whole situation was way too awkward for her.

Gram ended up calling her into the house to help set the table for dinner before her dad got home, so she didn't get to see him until they were sitting down to eat. Brynna started the conversation by telling them about how much Cody had loved his first bath that she and Gram had given him in his infant bather, and although the picture Brynna had taken was super cute, Sam found she was only half listening. Her dad had a face of stone not unlike most cowboys she knew, and despite having known him her whole life she still found it so hard to read. Her heart sped up in anticipation of what he might have to say, assuming Jake had been able to track him down. As if he had read her mind her dad then took over, telling them about how he had run into Luke Ely earlier that day, and it seemed both of their herds were doing well despite all of the cold snaps they had been experiencing lately. He took a moment to clear his throat, then looked over at Sam and said,

"Speaking of running into Ely's, I also had a talk with Jake this afternoon."

"Oh?" Gram said, and Sam felt yet another blush creep up her face as Brynna raised her eyebrows and shot Sam a look of intrigue.

Sam lifted her eyes to meet her dad's gaze as he said,

"He asked me if it would be alright if he and Samantha went out for dessert tomorrow evening, and if I would be okay with them spending more time together as possibly more than just friends."

Sam felt her heart skip a beat as her dad finished his sentence, and it felt as if his silence would stretch on forever.

After a few moments Gram exclaimed, "Well don't keep us waiting Wyatt, what did you end up deciding?"

Her dad continued to look her in the eye as he said, "I've put a lot of thought into this after talking with your Gram and Brynna the other day, and although I think you are still a little too young to be getting involved in a relationship, I realize that it's bound to happen probably sooner rather than later, and if it's going to be with anyone I'd prefer it be with Jake. I told him he has my blessing as long as he continues to look out for and protect you as he always has, even if that means protecting you from himself. He knows he needs to respect your wishes and not to push you into something that you don't want to do, or don't feel ready for. As for you, although I may question your judgment when it comes to that stallion of yours, I do know you have a solid head on your shoulders, and a mind of your own that isn't easily swayed. What I ask is that you use that judgment to make good choices, and to not hide it if you are feeling uncomfortable with something. You know you always have your Gram and Brynna here to talk to if you don't feel comfortable talking to me. Is that something you think you can handle?"

"Yes sir," Sam said, feeling half relieved and half embarrassed to hear her dad tell her to "make good choices".

"Alright then," he said with a nod. "Jake said he'd be by around 7 tomorrow to pick you up, you have until 11:30 to be home."

"Thanks dad," Sam said, and although she was feeling a little self-conscious she couldn't help but smile in anticipation of tomorrow night. Gram and Brynna were smiling right back at her, and Brynna excitedly exclaimed,

"If you need any help figuring out what you want to wear tomorrow just let me know, I'd be happy to help!"

Sam really wasn't the kind of girl who worried too much about her appearance, and she honestly hadn't even thought about that until now, but she smiled at her stepmother's enthusiasm and said,

"Thanks, I'll definitely let you know if I need any help. I should probably get started on my homework though, may I be excused?"

"Of course dear," Gram said, "you're excused."

Sam put her dishes in the sink and began to climb the stairs, her smile still lingering on her face as she made her way to her room.

* * *

The next day at school seemed to crawl by for Sam, because all she could think about was how her night with Jake was going to go. When she told Jen on the bus that morning that her dad had given Jake his blessing, Jen immediately began to fire a million questions at Sam, like: "What do think is gonna happen tonight?", and "What are you ready for to happen?". Sam honestly hadn't given that too much thought; she had just been excited to spend some time alone with Jake, and to see if it would feel any different than the million times they had hung out before. But Jen's questions were starting to make her nervous, because she really didn't know what she was ready for to happen, or what Jake was ready for either. In true Sam fashion, her answer to Jen had simply been that she didn't want to think about it right now. Jen had given her a look that said she was going to have to figure it out at some point, but had left it alone after that. It was now 10 minutes until the bell was going to ring for the end of the day, and Sam could feel her heartbeat start to speed up as she realized she only had a few more hours until Jake would be picking her up.

As she glanced out the window towards the school parking lot, she caught sight of the Ely's old, beaten blue truck, and thought about how she would soon be sitting in it. But, she reminded herself, she had sat in that truck many times before, and even got to drive it once when Jake was trying to teach her. Even if she didn't exactly know where their relationship was heading at the moment, there were very few people in the world she knew better than Jake, or felt more at home with. Surely that wasn't going to change too much in a span of a few hours, and no matter what was about to happen they would figure it out together, just like they'd been doing their entire lives. A sense of calm seemed to settle over Sam as she decided to worry about Jens concerns another day, and to just enjoy her night with her best friend.

* * *

As 6:45 rolled around Sam began to squirm in her chair at the dinner table. Jake was usually always right on time, so he should be pulling into River Bend at any minute. Sam wasn't sure if he was going to get out of the truck and come into the house to get her, or if she should just make a dash for it as soon as he got here. They were just finishing up dinner, and Gram was starting to clear the table as her dad and Brynna were making a fuss over Cody who was lying in Brynna's arms. Sam smoothed her hair and did a mental recap of what she was wearing; she had put on her favorite pair of bootcut jeans and her comfiest dark grey sweater, along with her new knitted infinity scarf that Gram had made her for Christmas. Even though Sam never put much thought into what she was wearing, and Jake had seen her covered in dirt and horse hair probably more times than he'd seen her in nice clothes, she did want to make somewhat of an effort tonight, and she felt good about what she had been able to accomplish.

Brynna looked over at Sam and smiled as she said,

"You look beautiful Sam, I love your straight hair, and Grace that scarf looks amazing on her."

Gram looked over her shoulder from the sink and said,

"I knew it would, baby blue is definitely her color."

Sam smiled sheepishly at them and said a quiet "thank you" as she glanced down towards the floor. At the same moment that Cody started to cry Sam heard tires turning into the ranch yard, and Blaze stood up from his spot by the door to let out a few warning huffs before he realized who it was and began to wag his tail. Brynna and her dad were already standing up and making their way into the living room to take care of Cody, and Brynna called,

"Have fun tonight Sam" as she disappeared through the doorway, and her dad turned around and said,

"Remember, no later than 11:30."

"I know," Sam said as she finished putting her boots on and grabbed her coat from its hanger.

"Bye dear, have a nice time" Gram said as she came over to give Sam a quick hug. "I'll hang onto Blaze to make sure he doesn't get in Jakes way when he's trying to leave."

"Thanks Gram", Sam said as she opened the door, "love you."

"I love you too honey," Gram said as she shut the door behind her.

Sam took a moment to take a deep, calming breath, before putting her hands in her pockets and making her way down the porch steps towards the truck.

* * *

"Jeez, you weren't kidding about this cold snap" Sam declared as she quickly shut the truck door and leaned towards the vents that were thankfully turned on high. "I was only outside for 10 seconds but I already can't feel my face."

"Shoulda worn a hat" Jake commented as he turned some of the vents on his side to face her. "You know you lose most of your body heat through your head."

Sam made a face at his know-it-all comment and said, "I didn't wanna mess up my hair, plus I figured we weren't gonna be spending much time outside anyway."

Jake inclined his head as if to agree with her reasoning while he swung the truck around and headed back over the bridge. "It looks good by the way," he said, glancing over at her for a second.

"My hair? Thanks, I feel like it's getting a little too long though."

After a few moments of silence Sam raised her eyebrows and purposely turned her head in Jakes direction. Without taking his eyes off the road Jake shrugged and said,

"Don't look at me, that's a Jen question."

"Thanks for the help," Sam joked as she rolled her eyes, but she felt a rush of warmth at his compliment.

They continued the drive towards Clara's in a comfortable silence, and Sam soon felt her mind wandering to the Phantom as they passed the mountains where he and his herd were currently taking shelter in.

"He's gonna be fine Brat," Jake said quietly, startling Sam from her thoughts.

"I know," Sam said, "I just hate that I'm not gonna be able to see him for at least another couple of months, and what if there are too many rocks blocking their way out once the snow thaws, they can't stay in there forever."

"Well in that case I'm sure you'll try to enlist me in some hair-brained scheme of yours to get them out of there."

"Obviously," Sam said, and Jake shook his head with the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. Sam sucked in a breath as they got to a particularly narrow and twisty part of the road and said, "I hate this part, it looks like we're about to fall right off the cliff."

"You're gonna have to get used to it at some point if you want your pineapple upside-down cake, I'm not always gonna be around to be your chauffeur."

Sam felt something twist inside her stomach at the thought of Jake leaving for school in the fall, and not having him around for months on end. His tone was neutral as always, but Sam wondered how he really felt about leaving home; she knew he loved this place as much as she did and had a hard time picturing him anywhere else.

"Do you really want to go to college?" Sam asked as they climbed out of the truck and made their way towards the diner.

Jake pulled open the door and stepped aside to let Sam go in first, and they waved to Clara as they made their way to their usual booth. As soon as they got their coats off she came over to get their order (pineapple upside-down cake for Sam and a chocolate frappe for Jake). Once she left, Sam waited in anticipation for Jakes response.

Jake met her eyes for a brief second before shrugging and looking down at his hands that were folded on the table.

"I dunno, like I said before, I'm not sure I want to take over the ranch for the rest of my life, and doing just about anything else would require getting a degree, so it's kind of my only option. I don't think I'd mind it that much, especially if I can make it on the track team."

"Would you go for criminal justice or something, so you can work with Sherriff Ballard and become a tracker?"

"Yeah probably."

"You'd be great at it."

Jake shrugged off her compliment as Clara reappeared with their order in lightening speed.

"Here you kids go, enjoy the rest of your date now," she said with a playful wink and a smile, which caused a startled huff to come out of Sam's throat.

"Are we that obvious?" she whispered to Jake as she shoveled a larger than recommended piece of cake into her mouth.

"I don't know Brat, I think they're used to seeing you with hay in your hair and dirt all over your clothes from wrestling with some horse thief, maybe they don't even recognize that it's you I'm with."

Sam made a face and attempted to hiss 'would you shut up', but with all the cake in her mouth it came out more like, "Wah you hut uh", so she resorted to kicking him in the leg instead.

Jake let out a rare, genuine laugh that made his mustang eyes come to life as he gently kicked her leg back, and Sam was suddenly struck with how much she loved his laugh.

They continued to eat their desserts in silence, mainly because Sam wasn't letting anytime go to waste when it came to enjoying her pineapple-upside down cake. Just as they were finishing their last couple of bites, the bell above the door rang as it was flung open, and Jake groaned as he looked up and over her head.

Sam was about to ask who it was until she heard,

"Jake my man, how goes it? Who's that you got with you, that surely can't be our Samantha, she's way too pretty."

Sam raised her eyebrow at Jake as if to say 'really' at the same time she heard Ally scold,

"Darrell, please tell me you didn't bring us here just to crash their date."

"Crash their date? I wouldn't dream of it hon, they won't even know I'm here."

Sam turned around to roll her eyes in Darrell's direction and shot a smile towards Ally as she forcefully pushed a snickering Darrell towards the far end of the diner. 'Sorry', she mouthed apologetically over her shoulder.

Sam turned back to Jake who said,

"I knew it was a mistake telling him where we were going. You wanna get out of here?"

"Sure," Sam said, and started putting her coat on as Jake fished some change out of his wallet. "Thanks for the dessert by the way."

Jake nodded as he stood up and gently put his hand on the small of her back to guide her in front of him.

"Leaving so soon?" Darrell called out from the other end of the diner, and the last thing they heard as the door shut behind them was Ally exclaiming,

"Darrell!"

Sam huffed a laugh and Jake shook his head as they climbed back into the truck and turned it on. Sam glanced at the clock which read 8:30, and felt a stab of relief knowing that it was still 3 hours away from her curfew. She suddenly realized that she was really enjoying herself, and she definitely wasn't ready for the night to end. As if he read her thoughts Jake cleared his throat and said,

"Since we still have some time, do you want to take a ride with me, I have something to show you that I think you'd like."

"Oh yeah? I'd love to", Sam said, and settled back into her seat as Jake backed out of the parking lot, and wondered with anticipation where they were going next.


	6. Chapter 6

As Jake drove towards his undisclosed location Sam took a moment to reflect on how the night was going so far. She felt like she was getting to see a whole new side of Jake she had never quite seen before; he was being a lot more talkative and open than usual, and Sam found she was really enjoying this side of him. She wondered if it had anything to do with him realizing that she was growing up now, and she felt a sense of pride knowing he was comfortable enough with her to be this relaxed. Jake took a sudden turn off the highway onto a barely visible dirt road, and Sam squinted out the windshield trying to get her bearings.

"I don't think I've ever been here before, where are we," she asked as they continued to drive up a fairly steep incline.

Jake kept both eyes glued to the road as he raised his hand to signal her to be patient, and Sam automatically crossed her arms in response to being shushed. However, once they crested the hill Sam's impatience evaporated as she took in the view in front of them. Tucked against a rocky outcropping that was shielded from view of the highway was a small overlook that was just wide enough to fit two vehicles bumper to bumper, and long enough to maybe fit 3 side by side. Laid out in front of them was a bird's eye view of War Drum Flats, with the Sierra Mountains outlined in the distance by the full moon, and off to their right was a partial view of Monument Lake; the lake where Jake had caught and gentled the filly he named Star with the help of Sam and his grandfather.

Sam could feel her mouth hanging open as she looked at Jake in amazement, and he gave her a lopsided smile in return before turning to stare out at the view himself.

"Amazing right?" He asked.

"This is insane" Sam said a little breathlessly, "How have I not known this was here?"

"I don't think many people do, from the ground it just looks like any other outcropping, I don't think I've ever seen anyone parked up here."

"Of course you of all people would find it" Sam remarked, still shaking her head in amazement. "How did you find it?"

"I noticed it one day on a ride with Witch, and I knew the highway went right behind it, so I took a drive to see if I could get to it from the road. I come up here every once in a while, whenever I need to get some perspective."

Sam sat quietly for a minute, letting his words sink in. She glanced back over at him as she quietly said,

"Thank you for sharing it with me, it's beautiful."

Jake just gave a slight nod as he killed the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt, shifting in his seat to find a more comfortable position. Sam did the same, zipping her coat up a little more at the slight chill that was already setting in with the loss of heat. Without turning to look at her Jake said,

"There's a blanket stashed behind your seat if you want one."

Sam scooted forward and turned around to kneel on the bench seat as she reached over the back and felt around for the blanket. Once she grabbed it she turned back around and began to wrap it around herself.

Jake glanced over with raised eyebrows and asked,

"Were you planning on sharing or…?"

Sam felt her cheeks warm a little, partially with embarrassment and partially with the excitement of what his words implied.

"Oh yeah, sorry," she said as she slid closer to him, and handed him one end of the blanket. It wasn't super long, and that combined with Jake's broad shoulders required Sam to sit right against him in order for it to warp around the both of them. As she shifted to get comfortable Jake wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side, and Sam felt another rush of warmth at the sudden contact. They stayed slightly stiff for a minute or two; Sam felt herself taking smaller breaths as if she was afraid to shatter whatever fragile bubble they had created. But after a few minutes she began to relax into the warmth of his side, and she snuggled closer as her head came to rest on his chest. Jake's thumb began to trace slow circles on her arm where it rested, and Sam felt the butterflies start back up in her stomach at his touch.

They stayed like this for awhile, and Sam marveled at this new development that she never in a million years would have saw coming, but yet somehow felt so comfortable and natural. They didn't talk, but there was no need for words. Listening to Jake's steady heartbeat and breathing in his woodsy smell was making Sam a little sleepy, and she felt herself begin to doze off. Not wanting to fall asleep and miss a moment of this, she stretched her legs and couldn't help but release a small sigh and say,

"This is nice."

She felt Jake's mouth twitch against the top of her head before he said,

"Sure is, finally don't have to listen to your constant chatter."

"Aaand its ruined," Sam said, jokingly pulling away from him as he tightened his hold on her and pulled her back to his side in a loose head hold. Sam took the opportunity to playfully punch him in the stomach, and he huffed a laugh as he bent forwards and said,

"I surrender," while turning towards her. Suddenly they both froze as they realized how close their faces were; there were only a couple inches between their noses. After an awkward few seconds Jake straightened up while clearing his throat, and Sam felt a rush of relief as well as a twinge of disappointment as she looked away. Although she was really enjoying being close to him Sam wasn't sure if she was ready to kiss him yet, it felt too soon. But for a brief second she had wanted it, which partly scared her but partly reassured her that maybe this is what she really wanted.

Jake scooted away from her a little and unwrapped the blanket from around his shoulders as he said,

"We should probably get going, it's already 10:45."

Sam glanced over at the clock in amazement; it hadn't felt like they had been sitting here for almost 2 hours. But she also felt like someone had doused her in cold water, not only because of the loss of warmth from Jake, but at the sudden fear that their close encounter had scared him off.

"Yeah, we probably should," Sam said in a small voice, internally cursing herself for sounding as hurt as she felt. She began to scoot back to her seat but Jake reached out to touch her hand and said,

"You can stay over here if you want."

Sam felt the icy cold begin to recede as she moved back over into the middle seat and buckled the strap around her waist, while Jake carefully turned the truck around and slowly made his way down to the road. Once they were back on the highway he took one hand off the wheel and intertwined it with hers, which Sam took as reassurement that maybe he wasn't as freaked out as he had seemed. She decided to cast that moment from her mind and just let herself enjoy the last 30 minutes or so she had with him.

* * *

Too soon they were turning into her drive, with the clock reading 11:15 as they drove over the bridge and back into the ranch yard. All the lights in the house were off with the exception of the living room lamp and the porch light, and Sam had a feeling her dad would be waiting for her when she got inside. Jake parked the truck in front of the 10-acre pasture, which was out of view of the living room window, and killed the lights and the engine, enveloping them in darkness once again. Sam slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards Jake, resting her elbow on the top of the bench seat and leaning her head against her hand.

"I had a really nice time tonight," Sam said softly. Jake was staring straight ahead with one hand still on the steering wheel, but he looked over at her out of the corner of his eye as he asked,

"Yeah?"

Sam waited a few moments to see if he was going to elaborate, because it was clear he had more to say. But he kept his mouthed clamped shut, so Sam took a stab in the dark and said,

"It felt oddly really natural, and comfortable, which wasn't what I was expecting. Well actually, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but you know what I mean."

This time Jake turned to face her as he repeated,

"Yeah." He looked almost timid as he asked, "You're sure I wasn't making you uncomfortable with anything?"

Sam smiled as she reassured him,

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Jake nodded, and Sam couldn't help but ask,

"Did you feel okay with everything?"

Jake gave a small smile as he said,

"Yeah, like you said, it all came pretty natural."

"That's good," Sam said, feeling a sudden burst of happiness at his words.

Jake cleared his throat as he said,

"I should get going, you've got 3 minutes till Wyatt comes out here to fire me."

Sam groaned softly as she realized their date was really over, but Jake had a point.

"We can't have that", she said, moving to get out of the truck as Jake started it up once again.

"I'll drop you off by the door," he said, swinging them around and stopping a few feet from the porch steps. "I'm not sure if I'll have time to come by this weekend, mom's tryin' to get us to spend as much family time together as possible before Kit leaves," he said, shuddering slightly as he mentioned family time.

Sam rolled her eyes at his dramatics and said,

"Okay, well enjoy, tell Kit I say hi," wiggling her eyebrows mischievously, causing Jake to glower at her and say,

"Get out of here Brat."

Sam was chuckling to herself as she opened the door and hopped out, turning around one last time to say goodnight.

"Good night Sam," Jake said softly as he locked eyes with her.

"Night Jake," she said, and as she shut the door she realized how much she enjoyed it when he actually said her name. She made her way up the porch steps and opened the front door as quietly as possible, tiptoeing into the kitchen in an attempt to not wake Brynna or Cody. She shut the door softly behind her, smiling at the fact that Jake waited until she got into the house before driving off. As she was taking off her boots she heard her dad come through the living room door.

"Right on time" he said softly from the doorway. "Did you have a nice night?"

"Yeah, I did," Sam whispered back as she straightened up and leaned against the edge of the kitchen table.

Her dad gave her a short nod while stifling a yawn.

"It's late, time for bed."

Sam nodded as she quietly padded across the kitchen and headed for the stairs. As she walked past him she took a minute to pause and say,

"Thank you dad, for trusting me, and Jake."

Her dad nodded again and said,

"You're welcome honey, sweet dreams," as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Night" Sam said as she headed up the stairs, feeling like she was overflowing with happiness, and already looking forward to see what tomorrow would bring.


	7. Chapter 7

Over the next few months Sam and Jake continued to try and find as much time to spend together as possible, whether it was going on more Friday night road trips to Clara's for dessert, going to see a movie, or just taking a ride after Jake finished whatever work Wyatt had assigned him. Sam would often rush home to finish her homework on the days she knew her dad needed Jake to come over so that she could help him work, or at least sit there and "talk his ear off", as Jake liked to say. But as much as he loved to joke, Sam knew her nonstop chatter didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to, and he was slowly getting better at being able to carry on a conversation with her. Their favorite thing to do was to find somewhere private to sit, either in Jake's truck or a sheltered spot on the playa with the horses, and just enjoy each other's company by snuggling up together and letting the rest of the world slip away for a while.

However, despite all of the snuggling and stolen moments alone, Sam and Jake still hadn't kissed. In fact, the closest they had come to kissing was when Sam had jokingly punched Jake in the stomach, which caused him to double over and come eye to eye with her on their first official date back in January. While the idea of kissing Jake still made her extremely nervous, Sam found that she was beginning to hope that he would muster up the courage and do it already, because she had a feeling that she might really enjoy it. But hope as she might, Jake wasn't showing any signs of wanting to kiss her, and it was beginning to make Sam worried. When she brought this up to Jen one day on the ride home to school, Jen scoffed and said,

"Boys, they can never get anything right."

Sam raised her eyebrows and took a wild guess and asked,

"What did Ryan do this time?"

Jen huffed and said,

"Oh nothing, he just decided he was going to jet set off to England to visit his mother for the week and neglected to tell me until the night before. It's not like we hadn't planned on going for a ride this week or anything."

Sam shook her head as she said,

"Unbelievable."

"I know right," Jen agreed, "although he did say he would make it up to me by bringing me with him next time so I can meet his mom, so maybe I'll forgive him."

Sam laughed and said,

"You know, weirdly I feel like you would blend in a lot better in England than you do here, at least fashion wise."

"I'm going to choose to ignore your unwelcome comment about my fashion sense and instead focus on your little dilemma" Jen retorted, tossing one of her white-blonde braids over her shoulder. "My first question is, if you want to kiss him so bad, why don't you just do it? It's not like he has any more experience than you do in that department, plus this is the 21st century, we don't have to wait for men to do everything for us anymore."

"I know," Sam said, "I don't know, I guess I feel like it would be more romantic if he made the first move."

Jen gave her a look and said, "Oh Sam, if you're hoping for romance you are dating the wrong guy, you know he doesn't have a romantic bone in his body."

"Yeah, but still," Sam said. "I really want him to kiss me."

"Well, then you need to orchestrate a situation where he has the opportunity to I guess" Jen said, furrowing her brow in thought. "Aren't your Dad and Brynna going out of town with Grace on Saturday to go to that cattle auction in Reno? And you're watching Cody all day right?"

"Yeah, it's the first time Brynna's leaving him for more than 4 hours, she's been stressing about it all week."

"I don't blame her," Jen said, "but he'll be in good hands. Maybe you could ask Jake to come over to help you with Cody later in the day. They probably won't be getting back until late, so that might give you guys some time to hang out together in someplace that's not a car while Cody's sleeping."

Sam raised her eyebrows and said, "First off, I don't think Jake is going to be much help with Cody, he's afraid to touch him, it's like he thinks he'll break him. But that's not such a bad idea, I know Brynna's worried about me getting too worn out by myself, and my dad started grilling me with all these 'what if' scenarios last night. I think they'd feel better knowing I'm not going to be alone, and they trust Jake more than anyone."

"Well, there you go," Jen said, "and even if Jake is scared of Cody, I know he'll come help if you ask."

Sam smiled and said, "I know. I'll ask him what he thinks about it today, and then I'll ask my dad."

Jen nodded and said, "and assuming they both say yes, let's hope Jake cowboys up and kisses you already."

* * *

Sam managed to get a hold of Jake in the lunch room before they went to sit down at the table they were sharing with Jen, Ally, Darrell and the rest of his crew.

"Hey," Sam said, a little out of breath as she speed walked up to Jake and stepped in front of him, cutting off his path towards the table.

"Hey brat," Jake said as he stopped short of walking into her. "Are you trying to herd me?"

"Maybe a little," Sam said with a smile, "I just wanted to ask you something, but not in front of everybody."

Jake quirked an eyebrow and waited patiently as she said,

"So my dad, Brynna and Gram are going to that cattle auction in Reno on Saturday, and I'm going to be babysitting Cody all day. They're a little nervous about leaving me with him all day, and to be honest I'm a little nervous too, cause he can be a lot sometimes. I was wondering if you'd be free later in the day to come over and check on us, and maybe help make supper?"

Jake shrugged and said,

"Yeah, I don't mind, I'm not sure how good my babysitting services will be, but I think I can manage to help you put something together to eat."

"Thank you," Sam said, "that would be a huge help, I still have to run it by my dad to make sure he's okay with it, but I think he'd feel better knowing you're going to be there."

Jake nodded, and Sam took a deep breath before continuing to say, "aaand I was thinking it might be nice to have some time to hang out while Cody's sleeping, before they all get back."

"Oh yeah?" Jake said, a slow smile creeping across his face. "I think you might be right."

Sam felt the flutter of butterflies in her stomach at his answer, and really hoped he understood what she was trying to say.

"Okay, good, I'll let you know what my dad says tonight."

"Sounds like a plan," Jake said, gently bumping her shoulder as he passed by her on the way to their table.

* * *

After Brynna asked her for the second time if she remembered where Cody's extra pacifier was kept, and her dad wanted to know what she would do in case of a flash flood occurring while they were gone, Sam decided it was a good time to ask if they would be okay with Jake coming to help on Saturday. After listening to her explanation of why it would be good to have him there, her dad furrowed his brows and asked,

"What's Jennifer doing on Saturday? Jake would definitely be helpful to have around in case of an emergency, or to help Dallas and the boys with the barn chores, but I'm not sure how much help he would be with Cody."

"Jen is going to be hanging out with Ryan since he's getting back from England on Saturday," Sam said, "and I don't think I'll need much help taking care of Cody himself, I'm just thinking I'll need help with the extra stuff, like my barn chores and cooking."

Brynna nodded and said,

"I'd feel better knowing you have someone else here to help you, so I'm okay with him coming over. Wyatt?" she asked, giving Sam a smile.

Her dad thought about it for another minute before saying,

"He can come over as long as he stays down here in the kitchen and living room, no going upstairs."

"Of course Dad," Sam said, feeling her cheeks start to warm up. "You know that's not why I want him here."

"I know," her dad said, "I'm just making the rules clear."

Sam nodded and said,

"I'm gonna go call Jake to let him know."

Sam grabbed the phone from the kitchen and made her way through the swinging door into the living room, wondering who was going to pick up the phone at the Ely's. On the third ring the phone picked up and Sam heard Quinn say,

"Hello?"

"Hey Quinn, it's Sam, is Jake there?"

"Hi Sam, yeah hang on one sec."

The next thing Sam heard sounded muffled, probably because Quinn had covered the receiver with his hand, but she heard him shout,

"Hey Jake, your girlfriends on the phone!" Then she heard someone who sounded like Nate in the background saying,

"Ooh, maybe he's in trouble."

Sam smiled to herself as she listened to their banter, and couldn't help but feel a little thrill when Quinn called her Jake's boyfriend. Jake had never officially asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend, but about a month ago at lunch Darrell had told Jake, "I think your girlfriend is missing a couple marbles" after listening to Sam tell the story of how she went after Flick, the horse thief she and Jake caught, and Jake had just shrugged. Later Sam had pulled Jake aside and said,

"So, Darrell called me your girlfriend back there."

Jake had nodded, and Sam continued to press,

"Am I your girlfriend though?"

"Aren't you?"

"Uh, I don't know," Sam had sputtered. "You never asked me to be."

Jake shrugged again and said,

"I thought it was implied."

"Oh, well, then yeah, I guess I am."

"Good", Jake had said before continuing down the hall. Sam had looked up at the ceiling in exasperation before the happiness took over, and she had hurried to her next class with a huge smile on her face.

Snapping back to the present, Sam heard Jake walk up into the kitchen and say,

"Shut up, Nate," before grabbing the phone from Quinn.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that my dad and Brynna are okay with you coming to help me on Saturday," Sam said. "If you want to come over for 6?"

"Sure," Jake said, "and I was thinking I could bring a frozen pizza for supper, seems easy enough."

"Oh that's a great idea, thank you."

"No problem, I'll see you then Brat."

"Okay, bye," Sam said, smiling to herself as she hung up the phone and counting down the minutes until she and Jake could have some time alone.


End file.
